I’ve been off Cipramil for 6 weeks and really, it’s been a pretty crappy run overall. I can count on one hand how many days I would say were really good. The latest has been a return of this weird anxiety that kicks in when I get horizontal. It can be really nasty early in the morning. I’ll wake with my heart racing and then I start getting auditory hallucinations. It all stops once I sit up. Have any of you guys had auditory hallucinations with this garbage? They used to really freak me out years ago but now know it’s all part of the anxiety aspect of this nonsense.
So given the above, I’m now onto nortriptyline. I’m starting on a homeopathic dose – just 2.5 mg – but there’s no rush and I’ll just titrate it up as long as my head doesn’t go nuts in the process. It would sure be nice if this stuff proves to be a magic bullet.
Is it hypagogny? Just when you’re waking up? All kinds of hallucinations can happen during that time and I got real hypnagognic during my big crash - auditory, visual hallucinations - ugly stuff. I would have to pull myself awake to make them stop.
Even now, on the weekends, if i try to sleep in, but i’m really past that point of being able to fall back to sleep and I start to doze, i start hearing voices. Can’t remember anything they said when I pull myself out of it.
This thing seems to come and go with me lately. Some mornings I wake up fine, other mornings are a little rocky.
I started it a month ago at 10mg and i cant attribute it all to that cause not 100% sure but i have been doing a lot better hardly dizzy and a lot more energy to do stuff almost able to do everytghing i used to until this relapse but again i dont believe it was the meds making me relapse i think it wsa the fire but i just wish i could go back to feeling better again like i was 3 days ago but give it a shot it has worked for other people and i think it may have helped me i will be going up next month…how are you taking 2.5? i dont want to jump up to 20 if i can take 15
Hi Julie – the aural hallucinations are only after I’ve been asleep and only if I have this anxiety thing going on. Two nights ago I was hearing voices in my head while trying to fall asleep. It would occur just at that point where I was about to drop off to sleep. None of it would make sense of course, and with the voices, I also had all kinds of bizarre images popping into my mind that made no sense either. Everything from spinning beach balls to boulders rolling down a hill.
Lauren - thanks for the info. Glad it worked for you. To change the dose just get a sharp and thin blade and cut the pill into quarters. Mine come in 10 mg doses. In your case, just cut one in half and add it to another whole 10 mg pill. Are you getting any side effects from 10 mg?
scott that is definitely hypnagogny, google it, it’s very common, especially among creative people.
it’s called a hypnagognic state, which happens between wakefulness and sleepfulness. It happens to everybody, I believe, they just don’t remember it.
So i think you said that some of them occur after you’ve been asleep - those would be the ones in the state between sleepfulness and wakefulness.
Then two nights ago, the nonsensical images, eg. beachballs, those would be the ones between wakefulness and sleepfulness.
it’s perfectly normal, just feels insane. I hate it, the visuals can be especially scarey. but are harmless.
It first happened to me during my big crash and it was more evidence to me that I was simply going insane. Luckily my husband is a psychologist and he said very calmly, hmm, hypnagogny. I googled it and instantly calmed down. This is one symptom you may not like, but you don’t have to worry about it. My migraine meds took it all away, except, like I said, intermittently upon awakening, and if i want to doze off again, i will start to hear voices. no biggie.
my pills are the capsules…nothing too bad in the begining it really vamped up my anxiety when it kicked in i would feel a rush of anxiety so i started (for the first week) taking a valium before i took the nortriptyline to head that off then after a week i was ok it does make me a lil tired and dry mouth but that wears off too…when i meet with my doctor to up my med maybe we can switch to ones i can cut up and go up but 5mg instead of 10mg…
Good luck with Nortiriptyline. By the way, over a year ago my doctor put me on Amtriptyline (Elavil) which was not helpful and i had side affects dealing with Urine Retension…so they took me off it. Can you tell me what is the difference between Nortriptyline and Amtriptyline? Is one the Generic version? Has people had better results over one more than the other?